Handle actuated tripod structure



Nov. 1, 1966 H. J. BlEscl-IKE 3,282,545

v HANDLE ACTUATED TRIPOD STRUCTURE Filed April 9, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 1, 1966 H. J. BIESCHKE HANDLE ACTUATED TRIPOD STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1965 ilniliillllli! T Nov. 1, 1966 H. J. BIESCHKE 3,282,545

HANDLE ACTUATED TRIPOD STRUCTURE Filed April 9, 1965 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,282,545 HANDLE ACTUATED TRIPOD STRUCTURE Hillard J. Bieschke, Schiller Park, Ill., assigner to Knox Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 446,904 8 Claims. (Cl. 248-171) This invention relates to portable movie screen devices and more particularly to an improvement in the structure for actuating the leg unit so that the leg unit of the stand is automatically urged from the supporting position to closed position when the stand is lifted from its supporting surface.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved support for a portable movie screen.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved means for preconditioning the leg unit of a stand so that when the stand is lifted from the supporting surface, the leg unit will move automatically to a closed position.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a movie screen stand having a leg unit and a spring means within the standard which cooperates with piv-oted lever means to urge the leg unit towards closed position, a means intermediate the ends of the standard in a readily accessible position for stressing the spring means to precondition the leg unit for movement towards the closed position when the leg unit is lifted from the `supporting surface.

Still another object is to provide, in a movie screen stand having a leg unit with spring means within the standard cooperating with a pivoted lever means for urging the leg unit toward a closed position, means associated with the movie screen stand handle for biasing the spring means to a position in which it urges the leg unit towards the closed position so that when the stand is lifted from its supporting surface, the leg unit is automatically urged to the closed position.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following -description of the preferred embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the movie screen stand of this invention with the leg assembly or leg unit in the closed position and the screen casing also held in closed p-osition parallel to the standard;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational View of the movie screen stand with the leg unit in supporting position, the leg unit having been released for outward movement to such supporting position by releasable means operative between the handle member and the leg -unit and the telescoping member having been released to permit upward projection thereof to permit the casing to swing from the dotted line position 90 degrees to the full outline position perpendicular to the standard as shown;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4 4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the stand of this invention showing the handle, a portion of the standard and the casing when the device is in the position shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view, partially in section, showing the position of the 3,252,545 Patented Nov. l, i966 ICS handle, the standard, and the screen casing when the movie screen stand is in the position shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 7-7 o-f FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view partially in section showing the bail support of the telescoping standard latched to the end cap of the movie screen device when the movie screen is in the position shown in FIG- URE 1 with the screen casing held in closed position parallel to the standard;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the lower end of the standard showing one leg of the leg unit in supporting position and illustrating the spring means in released position whereby torsion springs acting between each of the braces and 4legs urge the leg unit towards supporting position;

FIGURE l0 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the lower end of the standard showing the position of one of the legs of the leg unit in closed position and illustrating the cooperative relation between spring means in the standard and the pivoted lever means which urge the leg unit toward closed position;

FIGURE l1 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIGURE 9; and

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the line 12-12 of FIGURE 9.

The structure of the present invention is an improvement in the Idevice s'hown in the patent to Armstrong, No. 3,164,348, issued January 5, 1965, and assigned to the assignee of this invention. In such movie screen devices, the leg unit is preconditioned for movement to the closed position when the stand is lifted from the supporting surface by compressing a spring which is biased against pivoted lever means. When the stand is in the spread apart supporting position on a supporting surface, the weight of the stand prevents the tripod-like leg unit from collapsing. However, when the stand is lifted from the supporting surface, the spring force against the pivoted levers causes the levers to urge the leg units towards the collapsed closed position adjacent the standard. The coil spring which :is `biased again-st the pivoted levers is relatively strong and is compressed by depressing the telescoping extension rod against the coil spring and locking the rod in the depressed position.

Considerable force is needed to depress the extension rod against the action of the coi'l spring, and it may be somewhat dilcult to depress the rod when it is in its extended position, even for persons of average height. This difculty becomes accentuated when working with movie screen stands which are upwards olf 6 or 7 feet in length. In such cases, one must strand on an auxiliary supporting surface, such as a stool, and reac'h a full arms distance in an attempt to press the telescoping rod downwardly against the action of the coil spring. It is the purpose yof this invention to provide an improved means for stressing a spring to precondition the tripod unit for movement to the collapsed position adjacent the standard when the stand is lifted from its supporting surface.

Referring initially to FIGURES 1 and 2, a standard,

generally designated 12, is adapted for support in an y upright position preferably by a tripod-type leg unit, generally designated 13. The standard carries a handle member, generally designated `|14, which is slidably mounted on the standard 12 and is provided with means for adjustably positioning the handle 14- vertically of the standard 12.

The forward face of the handle member 14 is provided with means for pivotally mounting a conventional screen casing, gener-ally designated 16, so that screen casing 16 when released from its carrying position parallel to the standard (as shown in FIGURE 1), may pivot 90 degrees to its operative position perpendicular to the standard, as shown in FIGURE 2. The specifi-c means by which the casing is mounted to the handle will be described in detail later.

The standard 12 is comprised of a main tubular member 17 and a telescoping rod 1S which is slid-ably received in the tubul-ar member 17. A bail support 19 is mounted on the free end of the telescoping rod. The rod may be held in varying positions of extended adjustment relative to the tubular standard by means of a conventional clamping mem-ber generally designated 2t), located near the upper end of the tubular member 17. The clamping member is preferably spring biased so that it is normally held in clamping position and must be manually released t-o permit adjustment of the telescoping rod 1S. The bail support is provided with a depending stud lor lug 24 at the free end thereof which is of a size to cooperatively fit within the latc'hing means 26 in the screen casing end cap 24a for holding the casing in its carrying position pa-rallel to the standard, as shown in FIGURE 1.

The latching means includes a spring metal clip 26a having an opening 28 and is secured to the interior of the end cap by means of a rivet 30. The end cap is similarly provided with an opening 32 which overlies the opening 28 as well as a portion of the free end 26a of the spring clip to permit passage of the stud 24 the-rethrough for cooperative latching eng-agement with the latching means. The cap 33 positioned on the top end of the standard is provided with an opening 34 affording close tolerance with the telescoping rod 18 to serve as a guide and bearing surface therefor. The cap also cooperates with the bail support to limit the insertion of the rod into the tube and thus positively position the bail support for latching engagement with the end cap of the screen casing. The pivotal mounting of the screen casJ ing to the handle perm-its a suicient 'amount of play so that the casing may be moved toward and away from the standard slightly when in the upright position as shown in FIGURE 1 and as shown in dotted outline in FIG- URE 2. l

To latch the casing to the bail support, the telescoping rod is first depressed fully inwardly of the standard as shown in FIGURES 1 and 8 and the screen casing is then swung to a position substantially parallel with the standard with the end cap opening substantially aligned with the stud of the bail support. Slight relative lateral mtovement 'between the screen casing and the stand-ard permits the stud to engage the free end portion 26a of the spring as the stud passes through the opening 32 Vof the end cap to depress the spring until the stud becomes impaled by the opening 28 in the spring, thereby securing the screen casing to the bail support -in the storage position adjacent the standard as shown in FIGURES 1 land 8.

For pivotally mounting the screen 4casing to the forward face of the handle 14, the screen casing 16 is pro vided with an L-Shaped bracket 40x The L-shaped bracket 40 is pivoted with respect to the cup-shaped support 41 held to the forward face of the handle about a pivot pin 42 which projects through the rear wall of the casing 16, one arm of the bracket 40 and the bottom of the cupshaped support 41. rFhe forward face of the side walls of the cup-shaped member 41 affords Ia peripheral bean ing surface 43 to stabilize the easing 16 during its pivotal movement between an inoperative position parallel to the standard 12 as shown in FIGURE 1, and an operative position perpendicular to the standard, as shown in FIGURE 2.

rI'he bottom of the cup-shaped member 411 is secured by rivets 44 to a member 4S which forms part of a tensioning assembly which is secured to the handle 14 in a 4 manner described in detail in Petrick application, S.N. 275,388, filed April 24, 1963, and assigned to the assignee of this invention.

The handle 14 is provided with upper and lower bearing portions 46 Iand 47 which slidably embrace the tubular member 17. The lhandle member can be held in the position shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, hereinafter called the normal or first position, by means of a spring urged bolt 48 which is normally urged to its projected position within an aperture 49 formed on the side of the tubular member 17. The bolt 48 may be withdrawn from the aperture 49 to permit the handle to be moved along the length of the standard, by pulling outwardly on the bolt relative to the handle and the aperture against the spring 50 which normally biases the bolt towards the projected position.

The handle 14 is further provided with a second or tripod-actuating bolt 51 which is normally urged to a projected position by the spring 52 biased behind the bolt. The bolt S1 is provided with an inclined cam surface 53 near the inner end so that the transversely positioned actuating button 54 may retract the bolt against the action of the spring 52 when the button 54 is pressed inwardly of the handle. The bolt 51 normally projects to the interior `of the tubular standard 17 through an elongate opening 55 which is formed in the front face lof the standard so as to be positioned for engagement with the spring actuating plunger 56 for selectively inducing stress in the coil spring 57 in the lower end lof the standard to precondition the tripod for movement to a collapsed position adjacent the standard when the stand is lifted from its supporting position.

The plunger 56 is bifurcated at its lupperend 56a to permit the projection of the extension rod 18 interiorly of the standard when the rod is depressed and serves to stabilize the lower end of the rod relative to the standard. Plunger 56 is provided with a leg 56b at its lower end which is substantially coextensive in size with the interior cross-sectional dimension of the tubular standard 17. The leg Serb bears against the upper end of the coil spring 57 so that as the bracket 56 is moved axially of the standard, compression of the spring 57 may be effected.

The spring 57 is provided with a washer SS at its upper end which ybears against the -leg 56h of the plunger 56 and a washer 59 at its lower end which bears against the lever 60 of the leg unit. The washers 58 and 59 also serve to afford guiding and bearing surfaces to the coil spring. The function of the coil spring is to cooperate with portions of the leg unit and with the plunger 56 to precondition the leg unit so that the leg unit can be held adjacent the standard in closed position when desired, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 10, and so that the leg unit can be permitted, when desired, to move outwardly to supporting position, as illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 9. The preconditioning of the leg unit is Y accomplished through movement of the plunger 56 by means of the handle to impart stress to the spring 57 which, in turn, imparts thrust to the levers 60.

For accomplishing these functions, the leg unit 13 is provided with 'an upper colla-r 62 which slidably embraces the lower end portion orf the tubular member 17 and a :lower collar 63 which 'is iixedly secured adjacent lower end o-f the tubular member. The upper collar 62 may be provided with t'hree pairs of spaced ears 64, and the lower collar 63 may be likewise provided with three pairs of spaced ears 65 peripherally spaced about the lower collar in -a similar fashion 'to the ears on lthe upper collar. As shown in 'FIGURES 2, 9 and l0, a ohannel-sbaped -leg member I66 is swingably secured to each pair of ears 64 by a rrivet 67. A channel-shaped bracing link 68 is similarly pivotly secured at one end to eaoh pair of ears 65 on the lower collar by rivet 69. Rivet 69 also pivotly secures the lever member I60 to the ears 65 of the collar 63. The opposite end of each bracing link 68 is pivotally secured to a medial portion ofthe corresponding leg member A66 by a rivet 70. Torsion springs 71 are preferably provided encircling each of the rivets 7 0 of the leg members 66. The free ends 71a and 7117, respective-ly, of t'he torsion spning 71 bear in opposite directions against the medial web of each of the bracing links yand leg members, to provide a means for causing the leg unit to be swung automatically to an outwardly spread supporting position.

The lever 60 and the remaining components olf the leg unit as well as the coil spring 57, the plunger 56 and components of the handle 14 form a means for causing the leg unit to be automatically swung to, and held in, a closed position adjacent the standard when the standard and leg unit are lifted from the oor or other supporting surfaces.

For affording this action, each lever 60, pivotally mounted between each -pair of spaced ears 65, includes an inwardly extending arm 72 projecting into the lower end of the main tubular member 17 through a slot 7-3 in the tubular member, and an arcuate -arm 74 extending outwardly and having a free end for engaging the web of the adjacent bracing link 68 as shown in FIGURES 9 and l0. FIGURES 9 and 10, for clearness of illustration, show only one of the three leg members, lever means and associated parts.

When sutiicient downward force is caused to be exerted upon lthe three arms 72 extending into the tubular mernber l17 and the leg unit 13 is lifted from its supporting surface, each arcuate arm 74 is caused to be pivoted counterclockwise (FIGURE 9) with sutlcient force to overcome the forces exerted by the torsion sp-rings 71 (which tend to swing ,the legs outwardly) so that each bracing link 68 and attached leg member 66 is normally yurged inwardly towards closed position adjacent the standard.

The `force against lthe arms 72 of the llever 60 is provided by the .relatively :strong compression spring 57. In FIGURE 9, the compression spring 57 has not yet been compressed. However, as soon as .the plunger 56 is pushed downwardly to the position substantially shown in FIGURE 10, the coil spring 57 is then compressed between the leg 56b of the bracket and the ends of .the arms 72 of the lever. When the spring 57 is `held fully compressed as shown in FIGURE 10, the leg unit will still remain in outwardly spread supporting position because the weight of the .standard and the casing is sucient t0 prevent the compressed coil spring from forcing counterclockwise rotation upon the lever means 60; However, as soon as the leg unit is lifted from its -supporting surf-ace, graivity or the weight of the portable screen is no longer acting lupon the leg unit 13. Accordingly, the lower end of the compressed spring 57 immediately moves downwardly and `forces the three `lever means 60 to rotate counterclockwise so that the arcuate `arms 74 force the bracing links 68 and the leg members 66 into closed position adjacent the standard as shown in FIGURE 10.

The spring S7 is compressed or cocked in a novel manner which makes for easier manipulation of the momie screen. Previous means of cooking the spring utilized the telescoping rod 1S. The lower end of the rod was `adjacent the coil spring 57 and when the rod was depressed inwardly of the standard, this also compressed :the Icoil spring 57. Typical movie screen stands may be of four -to five feet in height, and the rod 18 may extend two or three feet beyond that. When depressing the rod inwardly of the standard, persons of even average height would have to raise their arm above their shoulder and, while the arm is raised in `this fashion, attempt to force the telescoping rod inwardly against 'the strong opposing force of the coil spring 57, a diicult task. Frequently standards may be in the order of six or seven feet in height, and it can be readily seen that the diiiiculty of de- ,pressing the rod inwardly against the coil spring was accentuated in such larger standards. This invention provides a means associated with the 'handle y14 for compressing the spring so that the spring is in a position, or -cocked, tfor acting upon the lever 60 to swing the legs inwardly towards the standard in collapsed position as shown in FIGURES 1 and 10 when the standard is lifted from its supporting surface.

Included in this novel means for -cocking the spring i-s plunger 56, having a first portion 56a which -is normal-ly positioned in the vicinity of the opening 55 in the tubular mem-ber 17 and a leg 56h which bears against the tube of the coil spring 57. The handle 14 is yheld in its normal or rst position lby the plunger l48. When so held, the handle is positioned .for normal carrying of the movie screen device, -for properly positioning the casing for latching engagement between the bail support and the end cap of the casing as .shown in FIGURE 1, and for 'ho-ldin-g the spring 57 in the properly compressed position as shown in FIGURE 10 for urging and holding the tripod structure adjacent the standard. To this end, when the coil spring 57 is in the relaxed or Iuncooked position as shown in FIGURE 9, the top of the plunger 56 extends to a point intermediate t'he opening 55. Retraction of `the bu-tton 4S permits the handle 14 to be slid axially of the tubular member 17 to a point Where the plunger 51 may project inwardly through the opening in abutment with the top 56a of the plunger 56. When so engaged, the plunger -56 is, in effect, an interconnecting portion between t'he handle 14 and the spring 56. 'Ihe handle 14 then may be moved axially downward .relative to the standard to a point where the spring urged plunger 48 m-ay automatically engage in the opening 49, to position the handle member in the normal or dirst position with the plunger 56 now compressing the spring as shown in FIGURE 10. The spring is thereby cocked for urging the tripod inwardly .toward the standard as soon as the stand ris lifted from its supporting surface. As long as the plunger 5 1 is in engagement with the top of the plunger 56 and the @handle is held in the first position, the tripod structure will be lheld close tothe standard as shown in FIGURES l and 10. The tripod may be released to the outwardly spread supporting position shown in FIG- URE 2 by depressing the button 54. This retracts the plunger 51, permitting the coil spring to push the plunger 56 axially of the standard, thereby .releasing the force of the coil spring 57 upon the levers 60 so -that the torsion springs 71 :may urge the leg members outwardly of Jnhe standard to a spread supporting position. rI`he face of the plunger 56 substantially occupies -the slot 55 and holds the plunger 511 in the relatively retracted position.

To again cook the spring 57, the plunger 48 may be 'released and the handle 14 moved upwardly o-f the standard to a point where the plunger 51 may override the pllunger 56 to engage the top 56a thereof. The hand-le is then moved outwardly to the first position where the plunger 4S again projects through the opening49.

Means are provided in the stand-ard 'for limiting the upward movement of the plunger 56 responsive to the expansion of the compressed coil spring 57 after the button 54 has been depressed to retract the bolt 51. As illustrated in FIGURES 9 and l0, this means includes a lip 76 struck inwardly from the wall of the standard 17 leaving .an opening 78 in the standard. Thus after the spring is released from the compressed position as shown in FIGURE 10, by the retraction of the bolt 51, the upward movement of the plunger 56 `twill Vbe limited by the obstruction afforded Iby the lip 76 which is in a position to contact the surface 56b of the plunger. On these occasions when the plunger does move upwardly .and strike the lip 76, it -will then settle on top of the washer 58, resting on the top of the spring 57, and remain in the position shown in FIGURE 9. This insures that the top 56a of the plunger 56 will never occupy a position which is above the top of the opening 5S wherein it would ybe inaccessible to the bolt 51.

This invention provides `a new and improved means for preconditioning the tripod unit of a movie screen stand for movement towards the collapsed position o the standard. This means is located in a readily accessible position thereby reducing the effeort required to precondition the leg unit by stressing or cooking the associated spring. While in the preferred embodiment this means is shown as ka function off the handle, it is to be understood that a separate lever, handle, or suitable mechanism can be provided for 4carrying out the same function. The

significant improve-ment aiorded by the actuation means ot this invention involves relatively simple structure and does not necessitate a great amount of change in the structure of presently known stands.

The foregoing detailed description has been `given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, ias some modification-s may be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim: K

1. A stand adapted to be maintained in an upright position upon a supporting surface, comprising: -an elongated standard; Ia plurality of leg members swingably mounted on the lower end portion of the standard for movement together between a closed position .adjacent the standard and a spread supporting position in which the standard is maintained uprightly; .a bracing link extending between one of the leg members and the 4lower end portion of the standard having one end pivotally secured to said lower end portion of the standard and the other end pivotally secured to said one leg member; spring means positioned at the lower end portion of .the standard; lever means extending inwardly of the pivot at the one end of said bracing link so as to be positioned to receive thrust exerted from the spring means and to tran-smit that thnust to the bracing link in a direction tending to .swing said bracing link toward the standard and thereby fold the leg members and the bracing link adjacent to the standard; means intermediate the ends of the standard for imparting stress to the spring means when the legs are in supporting position so as to provide thrust upon the lever means, said means having Ia connecting portion operatively enga-ging the spring means, said stress imparting means being movable on the standard to move the connecting portion so as to deform :and impart stress to the spring means; and locking means for holding the stress imparting means in position upon the standard in opposition to the stress in the spring means so as to maintain the thrust against the lever means when the leg members are in supporting position, whereby when the stand is removed from the supporting surface the lever means and said bracing link will be rotated by the thrust of the spring means to pivot the bracing link and leg members inwardly 4to closed position adjacent the standard.

2. A stand adapted to be maintained in an upright position upon .a supporting surface, comprising: an elongated standard; a plurality of leg members swingably mounted on the lower end portion of the standard for movement together between `a closed position adjacent the standard and a spread supporting position in which the standard is maintained uprightly; a bracing link extending between one of the leg members and the lower end portion of the standard having one end pivotally secured to said lower end portion of the standard and the other end pivotally secured to said one leg member; spring means positioned at the lower end portion of the standard; lever means extending inwardly of the pivot at the one end of said bracing link so yas to be positioned to receive thrust exerted from the spring means and to transmit that thrust to the bracing link in -a direction tending to swing said bracing link toward the standard yand thereby fold the leg members and the bracing link adjacent to the standard; means ffor imparting stress to the spring -means when the legs are in supporting position so as to provide thnust upon the lever means, said means including Ia handle member mounted on the standard and having a connecting portion operatively engaging the spring means, the handle member being longitudinally slidable on the standard to move the connecting portion so as to deform and impart stress to the spring means; and locking means for holding the `handle in position upon the standard in opposition to the stress in the spring means so as to maintain the thrust against the lever means when the leg members are in supporting position, whereby when the stand is removed from the supporting surface the lever means and said bracing link will be rotated by the thrust of the spring means to pivot the bracing link Iand the leg members inwardly to close position adjacent the standard.

3. A stand as specified in claim 2 including a bracing link extending between each of the leg members and the lower end of the standard, each bracing link having one end pivoted to the lower end portion of the standard and the other end pivoted to its respective leg member, and further including lever means on the lower end portion of the standard extending inwardly of the pivot at the one end of each of said bracing links.

4. A stan-d .as speciiied in claim 2 wherein s-aid spring means is a compression spring which rests upon said leve-r means.

5. A stand adapted to be maintained in an upright position upon a supporting surface, comprising: an elongate standard, said standard having Ia slot in the medial portion thereof; a handle slidably mounted on said standard for movement 'between a irst position, a plunger engaging position, and -a spring cocked position, said handle having a retractable bolt normally urged inwardly of said slot, said handle further having a locking bolt for locking said handle in said position; a plurality of leg members swingably mounted on the lower end portion of the standard for movement together between a closed position adjacent the standard and a spread supporting position in Iwhich the standard is maintained uprightly; a plurality of bracing links extending between the leg members and the lower eu-d portion of the standard, each of said bracing links having one end pivotally secured to said lower end portion of lthe standard and the other end pivotally secured to `a leg member; a compression spring positioned :at the lower end portion of the standard; lever means extending inwardly of the pivot at the one end orf said bracing link so as to be positioned to receive thnust exerted from the spring means and to transmit that thrust to the bracing link in a direction tending to swing said bracing links toward the standard and thereby fold the leg member and the bracing link adjacent to the standard; a plunger in said standard having a lower portion in abutment with said spring and :an upper portion adjacent said slot, said plunger normally positioned with the free end of the upper portion intermediate the ends of the slot in a position for engagement with said retractable bolt, when said handle is moved from said first position `along said slot to said plunger engaging position wherein the bolt overrides the top of the plunger, `further lmovement of said handle to said spring cooking position causing said plunger to deform and impart stress to the spring; means for locking the handle in said spring cooking position on the standard in opposition to the stress in the spring so as to maintain the thrust against the lever when the leg members are in supporting position, whereby when the stand is removed from the supporting surface, the lever and bracing lin-ks will be rotated by the thrust of the spring to pivot the bracing links `and leg members inwardly to closed position adjacent the standard.

6. A stand -as specified in claim 5 wherein said spring cooking position and said rst position of said handle on the standard are the same.

7. A stand as speciiied in yclaim 6 wherein the first position of the handle is below the plunger engaging position so that .af-ter the handle has been moved from the first position upwardly othe standard to a position ad- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,164,348 1/1965 Armstrong 248-171 5 3,190,597 6/1965 Bieschke 248-171 3,214,121 10/1965 Armstrong 24S-1.71 X

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

I. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A STAND ADAPTED TO BE MAINTAINED IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION UPON A SUPPORTING SURFACE, COMPRISING: AN ELONGGATED STANDARD; A PLURALITY OF LEGS MEMBERS SWINGABLY MOUNTED ON THE LOWER END PORTION OF THE STANDARD FOR MOVEMENT TOGETHER BETWEEN A CLOSED POSITION ADJACENT THE STANDARD AND A SPREAD SUPPORTING POSITION IN WHICH THE STANDARD IS MAINTAINED UPRIGHTLY; A BRACING LINK EXTENDNG BETWEEN ONE OF THE LEGS MEMBERS AND THE LOWER END PORTION OF THE STANDARD HAVING ONE END PIVOTALLY SECURED TO SAID LOWER END PORTION OF THE STANDARD AND THE OTHER END PIVOTALLY SECURED TO SAID ONE LEG MEMBER; SPRING MEANS POSITIONED AT THE LOWER END PORTION OF THE STANDARD; LEVER MEANS EXTENDING INWARDLY OF THE PIVOT AT THE ONE END OF SAID BRACING LINK SO AS TO BE POSITIONED TO RECEIVE THRUST EXERTED FROM THE SPRING MEANS AND TO TRANSMIT THAT THRUST TO THE BRACING LINK IN A DIRECTION TENDING TO SWING SAID BRACING LINK TOWARD THE STANDARD AND THEREBY FOLD THE LEG MEMBERS AND THE BRACIN LINK ADJACENT TO THE STANDARD; MEANS INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF THE STANDARD FOR IMPARTING STRESS TO THE SPRING MEANS WHEN THE LEGS ARE IN SUPPORTING POSITION SO AS TO PROVIDE THRUST UPON THE LEVER MEANS, SAID MEANS HAVING A CONNECTING PORTION OPERATIVELY ENGAGING THE SPRING MEANS, SAID STRESS IMPARTING MEANS BEING MOVABLE ON THE STANDARD TO MOVE THE CONNECTING PORTION SO AS TO DEFORM AND IMPART STRESS TO THE SPRING MEANS; AND LOCKING MEANS FOR HOLDING THE STRESS IMPARTING MEANS IN 